Kazumasa Isono

Kazumasa Isono (1534-1583) was the most senior retainer of the Azai clan during the Sengoku period. He assisted Sukemasa Azai with his defeat of the Rokkaku clan at Sawayama Castle, and he also supported Nagamasa Azai during his war with Nobunaga Oda (despite telling him that it was not too late to reconsider his alliance with the Asakura instead of with the Oda). In 1573, during the Siege of Odani Castle, he was forced to surrender after Nobunaga threatened to crucify his mother, and he died in 1583.